1017 - Precipitation observation

A perfect grey sky with no chink of blue
Refreshing rain blown sideways by the wind
A lovely walk home to look forward to
Wet clothes are something that I never mind!
To be downhearted about rain is blind
We need it, in the right amount, of course
As we suck the earth dry, the rain's our friend
Restoring, and obeying nature's laws
As we break ours, polluting without pause
Clean gutters, clean my dirty car, won't you
Clean landfill sites, and nuclear waste, and bins
Wash away all we produce without cause
And this time, build no ark to start anew
Or else put better-behaved people in!
Wed 17 June 2009

1005 - Dark June 2

The sky darkens now that summer is here
This is the season of disappointment
Hopes dashed with each raindrop that splashes clear
Onto the piss and vomit-stained pavement
We cannot say this summer rain's recent
It seems to be the mainstream, quite the norm
Old dreams of lazy hazy days are spent
The plain reality's this thunderstorm
Imprisoning me here; I can't go home
Just yet or my face will be wet with tears
From the heavens above, from where love's sent
Running in dirty streams down drains to form
Subterranean rivers; disappear
To sea with all our dreams, our innocence
Fri 5 June 2009

1001 - Am I dreaming?

Three days of clear blue skies. Is this Britain?
It seems that everything is upside down
And back to front these days. Politicians
Reviled, fraudulent. My face and arms brown
I live within walking distance of town
And go out now and then for a good time
At home the neighbours have all quietened down
And sleep, at last, when I need it, is mine
My mortgage interest’s low, meaning that I’m
Able to afford holidays again
Been to Paris in May, and I’ll have flown
To Ireland, come July; the autumn time
Should see a trip to European lands
It’s mainly good, because my life’s my own
Mon 1 June 2009

981 - Through the office window

Perfect blue sky, or perfect nothingness
Pretty green trees wave goodbye, short-lived man
A spire points up into the blue: confess
Your sins, or sizzle in the frying-pan!
Happy in the moment, kids whoop and run
Let out of nursery for some fresh air
Happy that adults carry their burden
Of their own future burdens, unaware
Traffic, in ant-like lines, crawls off somewhere
This mortal snapshot, its lifespan far less
Than photos, paintings or images on
The internet, is preserved here with care
Sharing this feature with Shakespeare's sonnets
Outliving the source from where it began
Tue 12 May 2009

956 - Wondering what to do

A blue pink evening sky with plane slug trail
A purple cloud floats by behind the trees
While charging the phone I talk to my girl
The day’s work done, why not do as I please
The sky is darker now, cold evening breeze
From the balcony. How to pass the time
The muse will not allow access, she flees
And I may have to bow out when this rhyme
Is done. The sun has set and I can’t climb
The slopes any more. Let the evening fail
And hope wither, I’ll get up off my knees
Turn on the TV, settle for sublime
Or ridiculous. Watch a film and sail
Away, lose all attachment and unease
Fri 17 Apr 2009

946 - Work, rest and play 2

Early to bed tonight, early to rise
Tomorrow to fly to Belfast Airport
I may not be wealthy, may not be wise
In work and love’s tentacles I am caught
Tie me up, tie me down…I’m watching sport
Man U against Porto, half-time one-all
And after that, Jools Holland, who has brought
The Specials onto his show (Terry Hall?
We’ll see…) I’ve watched a film and now football
And so far the game has been a surprise
Glad no bets placed, or I could have got caught
Once more with my pants down, making fuck all
Up at six tomorrow, up in the skies
A full agenda, given lots of thought
Tue 7 Apr 2009

857 - Early days, early doors

Light lingers, brightening the evening sky
Through thick grey cloud, reviving earthbound hopes
Senses respond, stimulating mind's eye
And though things are no better, ego copes
Thoughts drift to summer outings, fancy gropes
For roots and branches halfway down the cliff
To slow the slide. Opening envelopes
Of bills and parking violations, stiff
Drink as the darkness inks the sky, a sieve
Removes the stars. Shit lingers, has to lie
On pavements, unattended; no fly creeps
On its frosty moonlike surfaces. If
Days were warmer, would they feel less lonely -
Those days of summer's scantily-clad groups?
Thur 8 Jan 2009

839 - Blue and green patches

The rain held off while patches of blue fought
For space with those big bullies dressed in grey
We waited, baiting breath like we were taught
But not holding it for a sunny day
Emerging from our holes this dark Sunday
Like frightened rabbits on Watership Down
Scared of the sky god’s blessings in case they
Mess up our hair or splash our shoes with brown
I made a dash for a green patch, high ground
And cautiously explored with map I’d brought
In Heaton Park, North Manchester at play
Amazingly tall tube kids can slide down
Some ponies looked lonely but not distraught
In muddy puddles, huddled by the way
Sun 21 Dec 2008

819 - December 1st, 4pm

The sky all shades of blue with purple streaks
Warm swathes of tangerine towards the coast
The dark blue behind all too quickly creeps
The brightness ahead dims like distant hopes
Look into this darkness - numberless ghosts
All scurry through black tunnels, wait in lines
Their dead white eyes betray no sign they host
Within each machine, all-controlling minds
And so we drive ourselves on, disinclined
To stop until all homes are at last reached
Comforted by the fire, shoelaces loosed
Thinking we're free as long as home's light shines
Safe in bed, visualising sunlit peaks
Giving our cold engines a timely boost
Mon 1 Dec 2008

811 - Cold calculation

A wet and potentially stressful day
As all days are, although thankfully I
Am too slow to perceive just how much they
Should stress me, so I just conceive the lie
That it will be fine later, and I fly
In the face of the late November wind
Which slows me further. I know I must try
And do what the grass does in the storm, bend
And sway and even sing, and in the end
The wasteland will be green and kids will play
They won’t be scared of monster’s evil eye
Or calculating adders to offend
No matter what, we all go our own way
(Today was fine, despite that old grey sky)
Sun 23 Nov 2008

671 - Not so sunny Sunday

It took me an hour to wake up today
I listened to the radio, drifting
The London murders, tennis, I think they
Were the main topics they were discussing
The crack in the curtain was revealing
A gloomy sky, a grey day for the show
In Wilmslow; will we go, or will swimming
Take its place (indoors, of course)? I’ll soon know.
My trunks and towel await, as does Jo
Whose first year at school’s almost done - hurray!
Not only coz she’s gradually growing
But also coz her teacher’s been a cow
Later on we’ll see Anita and Ray
For Sunday chat, snacks and coffee-drinking
Sun 6 July 2008

635 - The cloud garden

The cloud garden forbodes a thunderstorm
A reckoning for afternoon of sun
The birdsong quiets, a sense of alarm
And disappointment marks an end to fun
Four blackbirds suddenly fly formation
While solo magpie spies from aerial
Signalling that there’s nothing to be done
As dandelion seeds float by, wish well
An unseen thorn deflates the paddling pool
As I trim overgrowth that must be shorn
Through sheer necessity cut back Eden
Even my leg is cut, see my blood spill
It’s cooled further now; inside where it’s warm
We’re hedgehogs hibernating, TV on
Sat 31 May 2008

479 - On my best behaviour (for Mum)

Today I had aching eyes and sore chest
Upon waking, and these remained all day.
It didn’t rain all day, though: we were blessed
With rays of sun and skies of blue and grey.
Noses ran, cars raced on the motorway
To Junction 3, signposted Arrowe Park,
Then on to Greasby, where Mom and Geoff lay
In wait at their bungalow, full of talk,
Like ‘I hope they’re not late.’ Too wet to walk,
We squeezed in one car, far too tightly pressed,
Then ate at The Manor. Mom said she’d pay
For food, and I bought drinks, but not one cork
Was opened for my sake: even the best
Of alcohol just left me cold today.
Thur 27 Dec 2007

457 - Leaving leaves

I’m looking out of my window. Between
The two tall evergreens, I can see, through
Deciduous branches where leaves have been
And gone, a distant tree gracing the view,
Majestically filling space. Thank you,
My noble chap, my cheerful friendly fellow
Behind the green and brown foreground. Below
The grey Salford sky, your distinctive yellow
Has coloured in my morning. I could wallow
In your mystical distance, golden sheen
Suddenly lit by sunburst for a few
Seconds (almost missed while typing). The shallow
Concerns of life mean I must leave, though keen
To watch your short-lived show. I hear my cue.
Wed 5 Dec 2007

361 - The last sea-swim of summer's short season

The last sea-swim of summer’s short season
I swim in Sheringham, over the rocks
Too sharp to stand on, arcing hands upon
The shiny shifting surface as it knocks
And rocks and lifts and drops, pushes or blocks.
Cloud cover covers all but this corner
Near Cromer; over here the water looks
Clear, warmer; I ought to say lukewarmer.
I fought the spray to delay the drama
Of calmer summer becoming freezing
Winter water, as autumn winds the clocks
And cocks its ear towards that dark mourner
Who storms in unerringly, the breeze gone;
From shore’s safety see Neptune shake his locks.
Fri 31 Aug 2007

305 - Today was spent just driving down through Wales

Today was spent just driving down through Wales,
From Manchester to a town near Swansea,
Escaping endless days of rain and gales
And peering through the car windows to see
Patches of blue sky shining hopefully,
And smiling, welcoming us to the coast;
At long last, fitting weather for July,
Now that Wimbledon’s over - well, almost.
A hearty meal at midday: beans, no toast,
But fried bread, mushrooms, the works. How the scales
Would groan, stomach distended grotesquely!
Next, following the road map’s my next boast.
This is the land of song and dragon’s tails,
The land of hills and clouds and poetry.
Fri 6 July 2007

261 - Snow falls on fir trees, slowly. The eyes see

Snow falls on fir trees, slowly. The eyes see
Them filling. Nothing solitary, unique.
Each tree seems the same, each snowflake, icy
White blanket on the ground, surrounding peak,
Slightly distinguishable, ground down, bleak
Equally, under uniform grey cloud
Stretching unbroken. In vain the eyes seek
A dark or light patch there within that shroud,
Evenly woven from a heavenly crowd
Of particles, all far to small to be
Told apart. Yet each one of them could speak
With cold and windy tongue so sure and proud
Of its difference from all the rest. Each tree,
Snowflake or drift of air has its distinct mystique.
Wed 23 May 2007

186 - Great scoops of ice-cream float in procession

Great scoops of ice-cream float in procession
Above the gleaming rooftops in the blue,
From fluffy factories they drift, destined
To feed a greedy god and all his crew.
See silver slivers slide away: would you
Gather them up, please? For we must not waste
Such delicacies. Soon the custard hue
Of evening will follow - oh sweet taste! -
Dessert for the deserving, downed in haste,
Drowned in the shimmering salt horizon,
Deserted, swallowed, leaving just a glue
Of black treacle stirred by bats into paste,
While milk-white owls shake their wings, sprinkling on
The sugar crystal stars reflected in the dew.
Fri 9 Mar 2007

185 - My flat is up for sale after one year

My flat is up for sale after one year
Of living beneath Salford’s sunny skies.
Only a short walk would take you from here
To Salford Quays and its activities;
Almost anything that you could devise:
Rowing, shopping or seeing theatre,
Shopping at Marks and Spencer, Sainsbury’s;
Or, the other way along the river
To that still-growing city, Manchester:
Its new and strange-shaped curiosities
Such as that new Civil Justice Centre.
I’ve seen this huge filing cabinet rise
On Irwell’s banks. It sure looks big and queer,
But it’s dwarfed by the Beetham Tower’s glassy highs.
Thur 8 Mar 2007

184 - "We all shine on," said Moon and Stars and Sun

“We all shine on,” said Moon and Stars and Sun.
Just like Mercury, they long to be close.
Venus, goddess of love that you are, hun!
When I am laid in Earth, the end of woes.
Is there life on Mars? No, the water froze.
I vow to thee, my Jupiter, my love!
Saturn’s rings are not of fire, I suppose.
Uranus, long to reign o’er us above…
Beyond the sea, Neptune floats on, and of
Pluto, that Mickey Mouse planet, has one
Song sung blue been sung for you? Heaven knows!
We’re leaving Babylon system - move! move!
In interstellar overdrive, step on
Across the multiverse with strings and bows…
Wed 7 Mar 2007